On the screen (big or small), the airwaves, and in the bookstore, we were captivated by new talent in 2012. From fresh faces with fresh voices, like Lena Dunham and Rebel Wilson, to veterans who were really given the chance to shine this year, like Channing Tatum and Jonathan Banks, here are the 20 stars that grabbed hold of our attention in 2012 — and we hope won't let go any time soon.
TV's Breakout Stars
Lena Dunham
She may be a polarizing figure, but even naysayers can’t deny that this was the year of Lena Dunham. The writer/director/producer/author/actress barreled right into the upper echelon of entertainers with her stripped down, brutally honest HBO series Girls and rolled right into a $3.6 million dollar book deal. And all this at the age of 26. As her Girls character Hannah Horvath mumbles while high on opium tea: Dunham’s not necessarily the voice of her generation, but she’s certainly a voice of a generation. Plus, Louis C.K. agrees that what she’s doing is “important,” and he’s pretty tough to argue with.
Max Greenfield
In just one season, Max Greenfield's wonderfully douchey character Schmidt joined the ranks of classic singularly named sitcom sidekicks like Kramer and Fez. Greenfield's nuanced performance as the (actually quite insecure deep down inside) Schmidt helped make New Girl into one of the best comedies on television, and forever changed the way we said "chutney."
Mindy Kaling
After years of toiling away behind a desk on The Office, Mindy Kaling is finally front and center in her Fox comedy The Mindy Project. Don't let the crappy name fool you, the comedy about a ditzy doctor looking for love in a crazy office is more original and off-kilter than it would suggest.
Jessica Paré
It would be impossible to sing the praises of the brilliant Season 5 of Mad Men without singing the praises of the sexy, talented woman who sang 2012's most unexpected viral sensation: "Zou Bisou Bisou." Whether you loved or hated Paré's Megan, her impact on the show this season was undeniable.
Chris Messina
Every girl needs a guy to drool over, right? For Mindy Kaling, it's the somewhat jerky macho man played by Chris Messina on The Mindy Project. With character turns in Argo, Celeste and Jesse Forever, and recurring spots on Damages and (ugh) The Newsroom, this dreamboat hasn't had any time to rest.
Damian Lewis
As war hero turned terrorist turned (maybe?) CIA ally Sergeant Nicolas Brody on Showtime's acclaimed series Homeland, Damian Lewis kept us on the edge of our seats Sunday after Sunday. Despite Claire Danes' quivering chin's attempt to steal every scene, Lewis' Brody acted as the show's emotional heart. In 2012, Lewis took home the Best Actor in a Drama Series Emmy he so deserved.
Jonathan Banks
When an actor has been in the game as long as Jonathan Banks has, making a career on dozens of supporting and guest roles, it’d take a superhuman performance to launch him to the forefront of the pop culture conversation. After two years as Breaking Bad’s no-nonsense backup player Mike Ehrmantraut, Banks earned colossal notoriety with his turn in the AMC series’ fifth season. Mike, always a well liked character, became the show’s central pull when Banks instilled in him the strength, frustration, and pain that award-caliber performances are made of. His rise and fall as a prominent player in the business dealings of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman and in his own relationship with his beloved granddaughter exhibited everything the crime drama mainstay Banks had at his disposal, about which we might never have known. Thankfully, Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan gave this once nameless character the spotlight this year, placing in Banks' capable hands the show’s pulsing humanity.
Up Next: The Biggest Breakouts on the Silver ScreenMovies' Biggest Breakouts
Quvenzhane Wallis
It always sparks chatter when a newcomer to the acting game gives a breathtaking performance — but Quvenzhane Wallis is the extreme. A five-year-old first-time actor at the time of her role in the magnificent tearjerker Beasts of the Southern Wild, Wallis doesn’t just take your breath away, she lays claim to your entire respiratory system. No performance in all of 2012 was bigger than young Wallis’. Despise her age, she managed to not only to keep up with director Benh Zeitlin’s Earth-shattering parable for the tragedies of Hurricane Katrina, but she launched the story to otherworldly levels of emotional resonance. Wallis’ role in the feature has attracted her to great auteur Steven McQueen, which means that she’ll be enjoying a long, steady career of quality projects as long as she might wish to.
Ezra Miller
Considering readers’ devotion to Stephen Chbosky’s classic, life-affirming novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the celebration of the book’s big screen adaptation is all the more impressive. One of the most important elements in the construction of such a perfect adaptation is the casting, one of the many areas in which writer/director Chbosky triumphed: Logan Lerman was a terrific Charlie and Emma Watson a stellar Sam. But standing out among them was Ezra Miller, who brought so much life and humor, so much pain and turmoil into the character of Patrick that you’ll forget you ever imagined him in another light. Earlier in the year, Miller dazzled and horrified as the tormented teenage star of We Need to Talk About Kevin, inspiring shivers and tears with his incarnation of the dark, disturbed main character driven to horrible violence. As such, we can call Miller’s range boundless.
Rebel Wilson
It’s no small feat to steal the spotlight from comedy bigwigs like Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph, especially when you only have a few short lines in the entire movie – but that’s exactly what Rebel Wilson did in Bridesmaids. This hilarious Aussie comedian became a household name after that, going on to star in another raunchy wedding-themed film Bachelorette, and becoming the first person cast in the collegiate a capella comedy Pitch Perfect.
Dane DeHaan
DeHaan looks like a young Leonardo DiCaprio — meaning he would have been fine taking easy parts that capitalized on his good looks. Luckily, in 2012 the actor did so much more than that, parlaying his time on In Treatment into a string of roles in risky works like Chronicle, Lawless, and Lincoln. 2013 is also looking bright, with The Place Beyond the Pines, a sprawling family drama that debuted to raves at this year's Toronto Film Festival, arriving in the Spring, and Sundance 2013 premiere Kill Your Darlings, which DeHaan costars in alongside Daniel Radcliffe. Oh, and he just landed a juicy part in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, in case all that heavy material was starting to scare you.
Channing Tatum
“An hour [to sum up] the year? Am I supposed to just scratch the surface of Channing Tatum's meteoric rise?" We feel your pain, Liz Lemon. There's no way this entry would do justice to the year Tatum had, what with his People's Sexiest Man Alive title and eclectic, surprising performances on the big screen (Magic Mike, 21 Jump Street, The Vow). It's his world now, we're all just just happily living in it.
Scoot McNairy
After his impressive turn in the 2010 sci-fi indie film Monsters, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood picked up on McNairy and wrangled him for bigger features. Going quiet for more than a year, McNairy dominated the Fall award season with eclectic roles in Argo, Killing Them Softly, and Promised Land. The actor held his own against big names like Ben Affleck and Brad Pitt, a nearly impossible task made easy by McNairy's ability to slip into any shoes, from criminal junkie to farmhand to Iranian embassy worker.
Up Next: Music and MoreThe Biggest Breakouts of Music, Sports, and Literature
Ryan Lochte
Though he may now be the world’s most famous “Sex Idiot” per 30 Rock, Ryan Lochte broke out in 2012 thanks to his skills in the pool. At least initially. After winning five medals in London during the Summer Olympics, Lochte’s fame grew thanks to his go-to exclamation ("Jeah!"), his economy of words (“I like swimming because racing”), and of course, that grill. Oh, and he’s pretty hot too.
Phillip Phillips
Despite his extensive health problems (which plagued him through his run on American Idol), Phillips has managed to carve out a nice little fan base with his ubiquitous hit “Home.” After winning the Fox singing competition, Phillips recorded his first and only Mumford and Sons-ish single, sending it straight to NBC as the theme of this year’s Summer Olympics in London. Now, the familiar trotting and cooing of Phillips’ musical equivalent of comfort food can be heard just about everywhere. If only that album of his would come our way a little faster!
Ed Sheeran
If you turned on the radio at some point this year, you know who Ed Sheeran is. This English singer-songwriter is best known for his hit, “The A Team,” and for co-writing “Little Things,” “Over Again,” and “Moments” for super group boy band One Direction. He also played at the Olympics' closing ceremony and co-wrote (and is heard on) Taylor Swift’s track “Everything Has Changed.”
Frank Ocean
This year, Ocean broke out of his role as a ghost writer for big acts like Justin Bieber and John Legend and released one of the most beloved albums of 2012, Channel Orange, which features singles like “Pyramids” and “Sweet Life” characterized by subdued rhythms, experimental elements, and haunting melodies that music-lovers quickly embraced. But it wasn’t simply his talent and flair for innovation that shined in 2012, it was his bravery. Ocean became one of the first openly gay hip-hop artists in mainstream music, and was quickly embraced for his openness in a world often characterized as homophobic.
Jess Walter
With six novels and a prestigious journalism career under his belt, Jess Walter is in no way a newcomer. However, his extraordinary novel Beautiful Ruins not only snagged a spot on the New York Times's 100 Notable Books of 2012, but also made him a household name. Walter's sweeping tale of love, which spans five decades and takes us from the Italian countryside in the 1960s to Hollywood pitch meetings in the present day, is the kind of story that stays with you. Walter is similarly a talent who is sure to weather the ages.
Gillian Flynn
Gillian Flynn's first two novels (Sharp Objects and Dark Places) earned critical acclaim and book awards buzz, but no book made more of a splash this year than Flynn's tightly written thriller Gone Girl. The eye-catching black and neon cover was a subway staple, and book clubs all over the country discussed the novel's big twist at length. Now, Flynn is in talks to adapt her suspenseful tale of betrayal and murder to the big screen, ensuring we'll see much more of her, as well as her unforgettable characters, Nick and Amy, in the years to come.
E. L. James
After the year she's had, E. L. James hardly needs an introduction. In 2012, James transformed from a British housewife writing Twilight fan fiction in her spare time to the year's best-selling author (for her erotic Fifty Shades trilogy). She was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People in the World, and one of Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People. Not too shabby.
[Photo Credit: WENN (2); INF Photo]
More:
Staff Picks: The 15 Best TV Shows of 2012 (And the 5 Worst)
Play it Again: The 12 Best Albums of 2012
The 20 Best Movies of 2012 (and the 5 Worst)
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Widening the thematic scope without sacrificing too much of the claustrophobia that made the original 1979 Alien universally spooky Prometheus takes the trophy for this summer's most adult-oriented blockbuster entertainment. The movie will leave your mouth agape for its entire runtime first with its majestic exploration of an alien planet and conjectures on the origins of the human race second with its gross-out body horror that leaves no spilled gut to the imagination. Thin characters feel more like pawns in Scott's sci-fi prequel but stunning visuals shocking turns and grand questions more than make up for the shallow ensemble. "Epic" comes in many forms. Prometheus sports all of them.
Based on their discovery of a series of cave drawings all sharing a similar painted design Elizabeth (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie (Logan Marshall-Green) are recruited by Weyland to head a mission to another planet one they believe holds the answers to the creation of life on Earth. Along for the journey are Vickers (Charlize Theron) the ruthless Weyland proxy Janek (Idris Elba) a blue collar captain a slew of faceless scientists and David (Michael Fassbender) HAL 9000-esque resident android who awakens the crew of spaceship Prometheus when they arrive to their destination. Immediately upon descent there's a discovery: a giant mound that's anything but natural. The crew immediately prepares to scope out the scene zipping up high-tech spacesuits jumping in futuristic humvees and heading out to the site. What they discover are the awe-inspiring creations of another race. What they bring back to the ship is what they realize may kill their own.
The first half of Prometheus could be easily mistaken for Steven Spielberg's Alien a sense of wonder glowing from every frame not too unlike Close Encounters. Scott takes full advantage of his fictional settings and imbues them with a reality that makes them even more tantalizing. He shoots the vistas of space and the alien planet like National Geographic porn and savors the interior moments on board the Prometheus full of hologram maps sleeping pods and do-it-yourself surgery modules with the same attention. Prometheus is beautiful shot in immersive 3D that never dampers Dariusz Wolski's sharp photography. Scott's direction seems less interested in the run-or-die scenario set up in the latter half of the film but the film maintains tension and mood from beginning to end. It all just gets a bit…bloodier.
Jon Spaihts' and Damon Lindelof's script doesn't do the performers any favors shuffling them to and fro between the ship and the alien construction without much room for development. Reveals are shoehorned in without much setup (one involving Theron's Vickers that's shockingly mishandled) but for the most part the ensemble is ready to chomp into the script's bigger picture conceits. Rapace is a physical performer capable of pulling off a grisly scene involving an alien some sharp objects and a painful procedure (sure to be the scene of the blockbuster season. Among the rest of the crew Fassbender's David stands out as the film's revelatory performance delivering a digestible ambiguity to his mechanical man that playfully toys with expectations from his first entrance. The creature effects in Prometheus will wow you but even Fassbender's smallest gesture can send the mind spinning. The power of his smile packs more of a punch than any facehugger.
Much like Lindelof's Lost Prometheus aims to explore the idea of asking questions and seeking answers and on Scott's scale it's a tremendous unexpected ride. A few ideas introduced to spur action fall to the way side in the logic department but with a clear mission and end point Prometheus works as a sweeping sci-fi that doesn't require choppy editing or endless explosions to keep us on the edge of our seats. Prometheus isn't too far off from the Alien xenomorphs: born from existing DNA of another creature the movie breaks out as its own beast. And it's wilder than ever.
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The Greek-born star died from natural causes on 27 August (11). Details of his death have only just emerged.
He made his first appearance onscreen as an extra in 1952 comedy Monkey Business with Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant.
Minardos also appeared in films including Istanbul with Errol Flynn, Twelve Hours to Kill with Barbara Eden and It Happened in Athens with blonde bombshell Jayne Mansfield.
He was also cast in several hit TV shows such as The Twilight Zone, Perry Mason, Mission: Impossible and The A-Team.
Minardos was also the subject of filmmaker Owen Prell's documentary Finding Nico, according to Variety.com.

At some point in the early years of the 21st century a bunch of Hollywood executives must have gotten together and decided that animated films should be made for all audiences. The goal was perhaps to make movies that are simultaneously accessible to the older and younger sets with colorful imagery that one expects from children’s films and two levels of humor: one that’s quite literal and harmless and another that’s somewhat subversive. The criteria has resulted in cross-generational hits like Wall-E and Madagascar and though it’s nice to be able to take my nephew to the movies and be as entertained by cartoon characters as he is I can’t help but wonder what happened to unabashedly innocent animated classics like A Goofy Movie and The Land Before Time?
Disney’s Winnie The Pooh is the answer to the Shrek’s and Hoodwinked!’s of the world: a short sweet simple and lighthearted tale of friendship that doesn’t need pop-culture references or snarky dialogue to put a smile on your face. Directors Stephen J. Anderson and Don Hall found some fresh ways to deliver adorable animation while keeping the carefree spirit of A.A. Milne’s source material in tact. Their story isn’t the most original; the first part of the film finds Pooh Piglet Tigger and Owl searching for Eeyore’s tail (a common plot point in the books and past Pooh films) and hits all the predictable notes but the second half mixes things up a bit as the crew searches for a missing Christopher Robin whom they believe has been kidnapped by a forest creature known as the “Backson” (it’s really just the result of the illiterate Owl or is it?).
The beauty of hand-drawn animation all but forgotten until recently is what makes Winnie the Pooh so incredibly magnetic. There’s an inexplicable crispness to the colors and characters that CG just can’t duplicate. It’s a more personal practice for the filmmakers and should provide a refreshing experience for audiences who have become jaded with the pristine presentation of computerized imagery. The film is bookended by brief live-action shots from inside Robin’s room an interesting dynamic that plays up the simplicity of youth ties it to these beloved characters and brings you right back to memories of your own childhood.
With a just-over-an-hour run time Winnie the Pooh is short enough to hold the attention of children but won’t bore the parents who will love the film mainly for nostalgic musings. Still it’s the young’uns who will most enjoy this breezy bright and enchanting film that proves old-school characters can appeal to new moviegoers.

The first and most important thing you should know about Paramount Pictures’ Thor is that it’s not a laughably corny comic book adaptation. Though you might find it hokey to hear a bunch of muscled heroes talk like British royalty while walking around the American Southwest in LARP garb director Kenneth Branagh has condensed vast Marvel mythology to make an accessible straightforward fantasy epic. Like most films of its ilk I’ve got some issues with its internal logic aesthetic and dialogue but the flaws didn’t keep me from having fun with this extra dimensional adventure.
Taking notes from fellow Avenger Iron Man the story begins with an enthralling event that takes place in a remote desert but quickly jumps back in time to tell the prologue which introduces the audience to the shining kingdom of Asgard and its various champions. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) son of Odin is heir to the throne but is an arrogant overeager and ill-tempered rogue whose aggressive antics threaten a shaky truce between his people and the frost giants of Jotunheim one of the universe’s many realms. Odin (played with aristocratic boldness by Anthony Hopkins) enraged by his son’s blatant disregard of his orders to forgo an assault on their enemies after they attempt to reclaim a powerful artifact banishes the boy to a life among the mortals of Earth leaving Asgard defenseless against the treachery of Loki his mischievous “other son” who’s always felt inferior to Thor. Powerless and confused the disgraced Prince finds unlikely allies in a trio of scientists (Natalie Portman Stellan Skarsgard and Kat Dennings) who help him reclaim his former glory and defend our world from total destruction.
Individually the make-up visual effects CGI production design and art direction are all wondrous to behold but when fused together to create larger-than-life set pieces and action sequences the collaborative result is often unharmonious. I’m not knocking the 3D presentation; unlike 2010’s genre counterpart Clash of the Titans the filmmakers had plenty of time to perfect the third dimension and there are only a few moments that make the decision to convert look like it was a bad one. It’s the unavoidable overload of visual trickery that’s to blame for the frost giants’ icy weaponized constructs and other hybrids of the production looking noticeably artificial. Though there’s some imagery to nitpick the same can’t be said of Thor’s thunderous sound design which is amped with enough wattage to power The Avengers’ headquarters for a century.
Chock full of nods to the comics the screenplay is both a strength and weakness for the film. The story is well sequenced giving the audience enough time between action scenes to grasp the characters motivations and the plot but there are tangential narrative threads that disrupt the focus of the film. Chief amongst them is the frost giants’ fore mentioned relic which is given lots of attention in the first act but has little effect on the outcome. In addition I felt that S.H.I.E.L.D. was nearly irrelevant this time around; other than introducing Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye the secret security faction just gets in the way of the movie’s momentum.
While most of the comedy crashes and burns there are a few laughs to be found in the film. Most come from star Hemsworth’s charismatic portrayal of the God of Thunder. He plays up the stranger-in-a-strange-land aspect of the story with his cavalier but charming attitude and by breaking all rules of diner etiquette in a particularly funny scene with the scientists whose respective roles as love interest (Portman) friendly father figure (Skarsgaard) and POV character (Dennings) are ripped right out of a screenwriters handbook.
Though he handles the humorous moments without a problem Hemsworth struggles with some of the more dramatic scenes in the movie; the result of over-acting and too much time spent on the Australian soap opera Home and Away. Luckily he’s surrounded by a stellar supporting cast that fills the void. Most impressive is Tom Hiddleston who gives a truly humanistic performance as the jealous Loki. His arc steeped in Shakespearean tragedy (like Thor’s) drums up genuine sympathy that one rarely has for a comic book movie villain.
My grievances with the technical aspects of the production aside Branagh has succeeded in further exploring the Marvel Universe with a film that works both as a standalone superhero flick and as the next chapter in the story of The Avengers. Thor is very much a comic book film and doesn’t hide from the reputation that its predecessors have given the sub-genre or the tropes that define it. Balanced pretty evenly between “serious” and “silly ” its scope is large enough to please fans well versed in the source material but its tone is light enough to make it a mainstream hit.

We can always depend on E! to show us the latest celebrity gossip, disseminate unlimited bitchy quips about wardrobe choices, and, most importantly, give us a look at the lives of celebrities we don’t really care about.
Think about it; did anyone really need to know what Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends or Khloe Kardashian or Giuliana Rancic (an E! News reporter got a reality show, really?) or washed up actress Denise Richards was doing before E! threw together a few cameras and created a bunch of shows that forced us to find out? The answer is no, we didn’t.
Apparently, this formula is working well for the network because they just ordered a reality show that’s set to follow actress Lara Flynn Boyle’s current state of affairs. The show will follow Flynn Boyle (who hasn’t done anything of great significance since a stint on Showtime’s short-lived Huff) as she commutes back and forth between her home in Texas with her real estate investor husband and “career” in L.A. Yawn. It sounds about as exciting as a show about a tanning salon (oh wait, they did that too).
I’m not sure what possessed the channel to select the former star of The Practice as the next falling star to chronicle, but maybe, just maybe she’s secretly wacky or has some wildly interesting cohorts. Even so, unless she’s got some Osbournes style family insanity, moonlights as a Playmate, or has a Whitney Houston-Bobby Brown level of (disgusting) intimacy with that husband of hers, I’ve got my money on the show being a total snoozefest.
Source: Deadline

Miss Potter is a biopic about Beatrix Potter (Renee Zellweger)—the literary phenomenon of the early 20th century who created the hugely popular Peter Rabbit books. The film examines how she rose to fame in Victorian England a time when women were only expected to marry and run a home. As the story begins Beatrix 32 is well-adjusted despite being unmarried and living with her well-to-do parents. An accomplished painter she dreams of publishing her pet animal drawings as well as the stories that go with them and in neat small-sized books perfect for children. Of course most publishers scoff but one decides to publish Beatrix’s “bunny book ” as a lark and soon sets in motion a publishing juggernaut. During the process Beatrix also falls in love with her young editor Norman Warne (Ewan McGregor) and agrees to marry him much to her mother’s chagrin (he’s a “tradesman ” after all). Basically Miss Potter ends up living the life she wants to lead bucking whatever rigid system put before her. Zellweger is playing yet another English rose but this time without the extra weight. Although not nearly as endearing and quirky as Bridget Jones Zellweger’s Beatrix is still plucky and outspoken willing to stand by her beliefs and forge ahead despite the opposition she faces. In other words Zellweger—who won her Oscar playing a similar part in Cold Mountain—could do this in her sleep. McGregor too seems comfortably fitted for the role of Norman an earnest fellow with good moral fiber a determination to succeed and love in his heart for Miss Potter. Veteran British character actors Barbara Flynn (HBO’s Elizabeth I) and Bill Paterson (Bright Young Things) effectively play Beatrix’s parents with Dad Potter being the more sympathetic and Mom Potter being the uptight battleaxe. And finally Emily Watson who does a nice turn as Norman’s spinster sister Millie. A brash intelligent woman who also speaks her mind Millie thoroughly enjoys life as an unmarried woman and quickly takes Beatrix under her wing. Director Chris Noonan waited a decade after helming the Oscar-nominated Babe before finding his follow-up project setting his sights on Miss Potter. There’s definitely some symmetry to his choice with both beautifully framed films having much of the same sweet-natured sensibilities as well as er animals. Much like Finding Neverland which showed how James Barrie came up with Peter Pan Miss Potter works best when Beatrix is standing up for her rights falling in love and drawing her adorable illustrations her “friends ” as she calls them who come to life and talk to her. Thankfully Noonan and screenwriter Richard Maltby don’t have the animated characters actually speak—only Miss Potter can hear them--but its still a clever device and definitely brings up feelings of hearth and home remembering those stories all over again. Unfortunately the film stalls a bit towards the end when the scenery shifts to England’s the Lake District where the real Beatrix Potter eventually retired to and helped preserve for future generations. Still overall Miss Potter is a charming look at one of the literary world’s more successful authors who was also a feminist and an environmentalist. Pretty amazing lady actually.

Top Story: Judge Orders Diana Ross Back to Jail
Diana Ross, who is currently touring Europe, was ordered back to the hoosegow yesterday by an Arizona judge who said she fell short by one hour of the two-day sentence he gave her for a drunken driving incident in Tucson. The 59-year-old singer, who was arrested Dec. 30, 2002, by police responding to a call of a wrong-way motorist in northeast Tucson, pleaded no contest last month to driving under the influence of alcohol. According to CNN, Ross was allowed "in and out" privileges at a Greenwich, Conn., jail, failing to serve at least 24 hours straight--as was mandated by the court--and fell one hour shy of completing the two-day sentence, Reuters reports. The judge now wants Ross to serve her time in Tucson. "The Greenwich jail arrangement clearly does not comply with Arizona law," Arizona Magistrate T. Jay Cranshaw wrote in a March 4 order. "To avoid any questions of impropriety, the defendant is ordered to return to Tucson to serve 48 consecutive hours in the Pima County Jail." An April 1 review hearing has been set, but Ross is not expected to attend.
Jackson Prosecutor Convening Grand Jury
District Attorney Tom Sneddon said a grand jury is convening in Santa Barbara, Calif., but would not say whether the panel will be investigating the Michael Jackson child molestation case. "The business of the grand jury is confidential," a D.A. spokesman told The Associated Press. "The office convenes a grand jury every quarter, so this could be considered part of their standard activity. We can't say." Use of the grand jury to secure an indictment would sidestep a potentially lengthy preliminary hearing and avoid the media spectacle surrounding public testimony. On Jan. 16, Jackson pleaded innocent to seven counts of performing lewd or lascivious acts on a child under 14 and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent. He's free on $3 million bail.
Cinequest Honors Schwarzenegger
California Gov. and former action film star Arnold Schwarzenegger accepted a Maverick Spirit Award Wednesday at the 14th annual Cinequest San Jose Film, which debuted Mar. 3 in San Jose, Calif., and runs for 11 days. Cinequest organizers said they chose Schwarzenegger because of his life and career accomplishments. "Throughout his life, Schwarzenegger has been known for setting specific goals for himself--and always achieving them," Halfdan Hussey, the festival's founder and executive director, said."Schwarzenegger uses his influence to better society and humanity." Past Maverick Spirit Award recipients include Jackie Chan, Kevin Spacey, Spike Lee and Jennifer Beals.
Trump To Host SNL
NBC announced Wednesday that Donald Trump will host Saturday Night Live on April 3. The appearance will not be Trump's first foray into the world of television. The real estate tycoon's latest endeavor, the reality show The Apprentice, which he hosts and co-executive produces with Mark Burnett, has been a ratings winner since it premiered Jan. 8 on NBC. The show features 16 contestants vying for a $250,000-a-year dream job as a top executive in Trump's business empire.
Miami Police Secretly Monitoring Rappers
The Miami Herald reported Wednesday that officers in Miami and Miami Beach have been secretly monitoring hip-hop stars P. Diddy, DMX and others in South Florida. According to the report, police began gathering intelligence on rap artists after The Source Hip-Hop Awards on Memorial Day 2001 weekend, when 250,000 hip-hop fans convened to South Beach. "We have to keep an eye on these rivalries," Assistant Miami Beach Police Chief Charles Press told the paper. "The last thing we need in this city is violence." Bruce Rogow, a law professor at Florida's Nova Southeastern University who represented 2 Live Crew when the rap group was prosecuted for obscenity in the early '90s said the conduct "implicates racial stereotyping."
Thirteen Leads Prism Nods
Director Catherine Hardwicke's drama Thirteen, which portrays teenage girls and their accelerated adolescence, earned multiple nominations for the eighth annual Prism Awards, which honor works that depict the pitfalls of drug and alcohol abuse. The film earned nods for feature film as well as acting bids for stars Holly Hunter, Evan Rachel Wood and Nikki Reed. Other nominees in the feature film category include City of God, Love and Diane, 21 Grams and Wonderland. The Prism Awards will be handed out on Thursday, April 29 at the Hollywood Palladium with portions of the ceremony to be telecast May 16 on FX.
The Practice Takes a Bow
The ABC legal drama The Practice, which was on the fence last spring before being picked up at last minute for an eight season, will bow out May 16. At the time, the pickup was followed by the high-profile cast shake-up by executive producer David E. Kelley, who let go of original cast members, including Dylan McDermott and Lara Flynn Boyle. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the final episodes of the Emmy-winning show will set up a spin-off series, which has been given a 22-episode order by ABC for this fall. Sources told the Reporter the pickup is not contingent on any actor, but speculated that the show's latest additions--James Spader and Rhona Mitra--have been approached for the follow-up.
Queer Eye for Pier 1 Imports
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Bobby Garfield (David Morse) returns to his small hometown to attend the funeral of his childhood friend and remembers the fateful summer in 1960 when his whole world changed. The story flashes back to when 11-year-old Bobby (Anton Yelchin) and his best friends Carol (Mika Boorem) and Sully-John (Will Rothhaar) capture the pure joy of youthfulness. When a mysterious stranger named Ted Brautigan (Anthony Hopkins) moves upstairs and starts to pay attention to Bobby the boy suddenly realizes what's truly missing from his life--the love of a parent. Bobby's mother Liz (Hope Davis) is embittered by the death of Bobby's father and shows little compassion for her son's growing needs. Ted fills a void with the boy opening his eyes to the world around him and helps Bobby come to terms with his real feelings for Carol--and his mother. But Ted also has some deep dark secrets of his own and Bobby tries hard to stop danger from reaching the old man.
The performances make the film especially in the genuine camaraderie of the kids. Yelchin Boorem and Rothhaar never deliver a false move with an easiness that makes us believe we are simply watching three 11-year-old children grow up together. Yelchin in particular is able to get right to the heart of this young boy who misses his father and clings to the only adult who will listen. And his scenes with Boorem simply break your heart. (Davis) does an admirable job playing a part none too sympathetic. She manages to show a woman whose been beaten down but who does truly love her son in her own way. Morse too is one of those character actors you can plug in any movie and get a performance worth noting. In Hearts you want to see more of him. Of course the film shines brightest when Hopkins is on the screen. It may not be an Oscar-caliber performance but the actor is unparalleled in bringing a character to life--showing the subtleties of an old man looking for some peace in his life.
If you are expecting the Stephen King novel you may be disappointed. Screenwriter William Goldman and director Scott Hicks (Shine) deftly extracted the King formula of telling a story through a child's eye and explaining how the relationships formed as a child shaped the adult later. Hicks did an amazing job with his young actors especially Yelchin and Boorem. But where the novel continued into a supernatural theme explaining Brautigan's fear of being captured by "low men in yellow coats" (a reference to King's The Dark Tower series) the movie downplayed the mystical elements instead giving real explanations for Brautigan's man-on-the-run. That was the one problem with Hearts--we needed more danger. Introducing men from another dimension may not have been the way to go but had there been more tension the film would have resonated more especially when Bobby risked his own safety to save Ted.